Semiconductor devices are ubiquitous in modern electronic products. Semiconductor devices vary in the number and density of electrical components. Discrete semiconductor devices generally contain one type of electrical component, e.g., light emitting diode (LED), transistor, resistor, capacitor, inductor, and power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). Integrated semiconductor devices typically contain hundreds to millions of electrical components. Examples of integrated semiconductor devices include microcontrollers, microprocessors, charged-coupled devices (CCDs), solar cells, and digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs).
Semiconductor devices perform a wide range of functions such as high-speed calculations, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals, controlling electronic devices, transforming sunlight to electricity, and creating visual projections for television displays. Semiconductor devices are found in the fields of entertainment, communications, power generation, networks, computers, and consumer products. Semiconductor devices are also found in electronic products including military, aviation, automotive, industrial controllers, and office equipment.
Semiconductor devices are generally manufactured using two complex manufacturing processes, i.e., front-end manufacturing, and back-end manufacturing, each involving potentially hundreds of steps. Front-end manufacturing involves the formation of a plurality of die on the surface of a semiconductor wafer. Each die is identical and contains circuits formed by electrically connecting active and passive components. Back-end manufacturing involves singulating individual die from the finished wafer and packaging the die to provide structural support and environmental isolation.
One goal of semiconductor manufacturing is to produce smaller semiconductor devices. Smaller devices typically consume less power, can be produced more efficiently, and have higher performance. In addition, smaller semiconductor devices have a smaller footprint, which is desirable for smaller end products. A smaller die size may be achieved by improvements in the front-end process resulting in die with smaller, higher density active and passive components. Back-end processes may result in semiconductor device packages with a smaller footprint by improvements in electrical interconnection and packaging materials.
Often, when forming integrated circuit packages, it is necessary to form top and bottom interconnection structures in the packages. The top and bottom interconnect structure facilitates the mounting of the packages to motherboards, and other printed circuit boards (PCBs) or substrates. Furthermore, by forming the interconnections on top and bottom surfaces of the package, multiple packages can be placed over one-another to form stacked packages that provide sophisticated functionality in a small volume. The top and bottom interconnects usually include conductive through-hole vias (THVs) formed within a perimeter of the package. Conductive THVs are difficult to manufacture and require several additional fabrication steps that increase the cost and manufacturing time of the package. Furthermore, as fabrication technologies improve, average die size shrinks and the number of input/output pins per die increases. Due to the increasing pin density, it is difficult to mount the resulting die to conventional motherboards which are configured for ball grid array (BGA) mounting technologies using larger input/output bumps with a larger pitch.
Thus, a need still remains for a lower cost way of providing top and bottom terminals for package stacking and device integration. It is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.